
Originally Posted by
chassamui
....Cuba should be his defining moment, especially for anyone who lived through the missile crisis in the 60s.
Normalizing relations with Cuba is not really about Obama, IMO.
(The Embargo is still in effect and will likely continue for a while. Congress has to repeal it.)
Obama normalized relations with Cuba because of the change in polling data for 2 million Cuban-Americans in Florida.
Since Castro came to power Cuban-Americans were staunch opponents to any type of dialogue, warming of relations, trade, etc towards Cuba.
Even casually mentioning it brought harsh responses to former Presidents and Congressional members.
Florida is critical to winning a Presidential election for all candidates and both parties.
Now, the younger generation of Cuban-Americans have changed their stance and it is no longer political suicide to open up to Cuba.